Deep Encounter
by vanishingp2000
Summary: Gibbs and DiNozzo are caught in the middle in a deadly game of cat and mouse. NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to Mr VP for the Beta. Any remaining mistakes are mine.**

_MTAC 15.00 hrs Wednesday 24th_

_There has been an explosion at sea. USS Surreptitious the Navy's latest experimental sub. She was undergoing top secret trials mid Pacific when the explosion happened. She's managed to break the surface but is unable to get underway, assistance required, foul play suspected._

02.30 hrs Wednesday 24th

The ringing of his cell jerked him out of a sound sleep and DiNozzo rolled over quickly to take it from the nightstand.

"DiNozzo," he said, instantly alert from long years of practise. He listened carefully, nodding to himself once or twice as he tucked the phone against his neck, getting out of bed quickly and grabbing a pair of jeans. By the time he had finished his call he was half dressed, a quick glance at the clock on his nightstand confirmed his suspicions. _Definitely still the middle of the night. To be precise it was two and a half hours since he'd gotten to bed. _Shaking his head ruefully he grabbed his keys, punching the speed dial on his cell to call the rest of the team.

Twenty minutes later he walked into the bull pen and powered up his computer. He was the first to arrive, not surprising since he lived nearer than Ziva and McGee and Gibbs would have stopped for coffee on the way and be expecting some initial findings when he arrived. The elevator dinged announcing its arrival and the man in question marched out, the expected cup in hand. He raised his eyebrows at his subordinate and DiNozzo noted that his boss looked, if anything, wearier than he felt. Mind you the man probably hadn't been to bed at all, preferring to unwind with his boat after the last case rather than crash as Tony himself had done.

"What've we got DiNozzo?"

"Two dead naval cadets in civvies at the services off the Southwest freeway, junction nearest the university. John Stevenson and Lance Blake found behind the dumpsters by one of the workers at Starbucks. Local LEOs called us when they id'd them as navy." As he spoke Tony had been pulling up the two young men's service records and he put them up on the plasma screen as he finished. "Both just out of basic training," he continued, "same unit."

"McGee, Ziva?"

"I told McGee to go check the truck first thing Boss and Ziva," he stopped, inclining his head towards the elevator as the young Israeli stepped out. She looked hassled, her hair in disarray as she hurried to her desk, dropping her bag unceremoniously on the floor.

Gibbs ignored her mood, instead instructing Tony to fill her in on the way to the garage and the truck.

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They arrived at the scene thirty minutes later to find the area awash with activity. Gibbs practically growled at the sight, only relenting slightly as he realised that the area had at least been taped off and was being supervised by a uniformed officer. Where the hell all of the onlookers had come from at 04.15 was anyone's guess, though a quick glance at the car park revealed two coaches emblazoned with a tour bus emblem.

Marching forwards Gibbs quickly cleared the area, instructing Ziva and McGee to begin the interviews whilst he and DiNozzo ducked under the tape. "Begin shooting Tony," Gibbs said quietly, "I'll do a preliminary perimeter search while we wait for Ducky and daylight."

DiNozzo glanced at his watch as he took the camera out of his backpack, checking the flash unit. "Should be getting light in an hour or so," he replied.

Gibbs didn't answer but turned away and began slowly walking the perimeter of the scene, stopping occasionally as his flashlight picked up something on the ground. They continued working in silence for a while, making sure that they didn't miss anything. DiNozzo finished with the pictures and began to sketch just as Ducky and Palmer arrived in their van.

"Good morning Tony," Ducky said jovially

DiNozzo frowned over at the elderly ME before remembering that _he_ had not been up for most of the last twenty-four hours. Smiling ruefully he returned the greeting. "Morning Duck, this looks like a dump to me, very little blood and some heavy boot prints over there."

The ME nodded, looking over the first of the bodies without touching. "I think you're right my boy," he said at last. "Dual lividity, certainly this fellow didn't die here."

"Time of death Duck?" Gibbs asked coming over to join them.

"Patience Jethro," Mallard smiled over at the younger man even as he took out his liver probe. Gibbs waited with barely concealed impatience until Mallard spoke again. "Between midnight and 01.15," he said, moving to the second body and repeating the procedure.

"What time did the call come in?" Gibbs asked DiNozzo who checked his notes before replying.

"LEOs called us at 03.05, call came into them nearly an hour before that."

"Can't have been killed too far away from here then," Gibbs mused. Looking over at the parking lot he raised his voice and shouted across. "Hey, McGee."

The young man looked up quickly from where he was interviewing an elderly couple and excused himself before hurrying over. "Yes Boss," he said, slightly breathlessly.

"Did anyone see anything?"

McGee shook his head. "Seems the tour buses stopped off about 01.30, drivers had to have an hours break, no-one saw anything until the janitor from Starbucks found the bodies when he took out the trash. He panicked and then everyone wanted in on it."

"So the scene is contaminated." Gibbs voice was deceptively quiet but anyone who knew him could sense his fury.

"Um, it may not be as bad as all that," McGee began, taking a breath and then hurrying on before Gibbs could interrupt. "The manager at the gas station is an ex cop and apparently he got there first and kept people back."

"You talked to him?"

"Sure thing Boss, I'll send him over but he seems pretty certain he stopped any contamination."

"Pretty certain McGee?"

"Umm, I'll just go get him Boss," McGee stammered and scurried off towards the group on the edge of the parking lot.

"Jethro," Mallard interrupted without a thought to Gibbs' mood. "This is interesting, the second young man died approximately two hours earlier than the first."

"But they have both been moved here though Doc?" queried DiNozzo, looking up from making a cast of a boot print.

"Oh yes my boy, definitely moved from where they were killed. Perhaps we shall find some bruising when we begin the autopsy which may assist in determining how they were transported here."

"Are you ready to move them Doc?"

"Yes I believe so, let's get them home Mr Palmer," Mallard called over to his assistant who had just finished making his notes.

Gibbs listened quietly as his team made their preparations and watched as McGee led a tall man over to them. He was running to fat but wore an air of authority that screamed cop even from a hundred yards away.

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12.00 hrs Wednesday 24th

Gibbs walked back into the bull pen carrying his customary cup of coffee. He had just spent the past half hour in autopsy listening to Ducky's preliminary findings but had come away with little more than he already knew. Both young men had been shot at point blank range in the chest, suggesting that they perhaps knew their assailant as there were no signs of defensive injuries. Or they could simply have been held at gunpoint and been afraid to move. Ducky had confirmed the differing times of death but without more to go on that was just one more piece of the puzzle. His patience was wearing very thin as he approached his team.

"Both come from long term naval families Boss," Tony got up and approached the plasma as soon as Gibbs entered the room. Long used to the older man's moods he had become adept at diffusing him and today was no exception. He continued quickly at the other man's glare but the heat had gone out of his gaze.

"Stevenson's father and grandfather are both still serving officers, Blake's dad retired last year and his grandfather was lost at Pearl Harbor."

"Where are Stevenson's family serving?" Gibbs asked with sharpened attention.

"Walter Stevenson, his grandfather is onshore in Norfolk, his father, also John, is in experimental subs. I can't get any more than that it's classified. McGee is on it," DiNozzo indicated the younger agent who was engrossed in his search, his fingers flying over his keyboard.

Gibbs chose to ignore him for the moment, knowing that he would report as soon as he had something. He looked back at DiNozzo, recognising that his senior agent had more to report.

"Blake's father served on destroyers for most of his career and was honourably discharged last year. He's living downtown," Tony looked at his feet briefly before continuing, "He has been informed of his son's death. Mom died five years ago."

"Is there anything to connect the two?" Gibbs asked.

"Not yet" Ziva spoke up for the first time. "Blake and Stevenson were friends at the academy but there is no record of contact between their families. Blake was the first one killed, approximately two hours earlier than Stevenson."

"I've started looking into their finances Boss, nothing yet," Tony headed back to his desk, rolling his shoulders as he tried to ease his tired muscles. The last case had involved several long days and nights and sleep had been scarce over the past week. Shaking his head he continued looking through John Stevenson's financial records. Across the aisle Ziva also sat down quietly, too tired to even tease.

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14.55hrs Wednesday 24th

The bull pen remained unusually quiet as the afternoon wore on. Gibbs had visited autopsy and Abby's lab a couple of times but was still awaiting results. Between them they had amassed further facts of the young men's lives so that they could recite details from birth to their untimely deaths. Nowhere could they find a connection before they met on joining the navy.

Gibbs' phone rang, he listened for a moment before putting the phone down and heading up the stairs towards MTAC all trace of fatigue gone from his step.

MTAC 15.00 hrs Wednesday 24th

As Gibbs entered MTAC he was aware of a subdued hush. Director Sheppard stood in front of the main screen listening to a report coming in from SEC NAV. She gestured him down to join her, her expression bland as she spoke. "Please continue Sir, Special Agent Gibbs has arrived."

The Secretary nodded and began without preamble, "There has been an explosion at sea. USS Surreptitious, the Navy's latest experimental sub. She was undergoing top secret trials mid Pacific when the explosion happened. She's managed to break the surface but is unable to get underway, assistance required, foul play suspected."

Bull pen 15.00 hrs Wednesday 24th

"Got it!" McGee exclaimed excitedly.

DiNozzo looked up quickly. "You've found the sub?" he asked.

"Yep," McGee tried and failed to hide the grin on his face, aware that DiNozzo probably didn't appreciate just what a feat it had been to hack as deeply as he'd had to to find the information.

"Are you going to enlighten us Probie," Tony began, advancing menacingly towards the younger agent.

"Sorry Tony, of course," McGee replied, unfazed. "It's an experimental sub called the Surreptitious."

"Good work Probie, any idea where she is?"

"Mid Pacific," Gibbs strode purposely down the steps from MTAC, without breaking stride on his way to his desk he called over his shoulder. "DiNozzo, grab your gear, we've got a plane to catch."

TBC

**AN. I have wrestled with this story for months, writing in fits and starts as RL has got in the way or I have struggled to decide what should come next. It is, finally, almost finished and I am posting now in the hope that a little pressure will give me the final impetus. I hope that you enjoy it. VP.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to Mr VP for the Beta. Any remaining mistakes are mine.**

**AN: Thank you so much for the reviews, they are really encouraging to receive.**

The seemingly endless whirl of military transport was exhausting. Plane to the Enterprise, helo to boat to which they were lowered by rope from the transport helicopter along with a contingent of engineers and on to the stricken submarine. In all the trip took a little over five hours during which time Gibbs caught several catnaps and DiNozzo slept not at all. Glaring at the ex-marine Tony envied his boss his ability to sleep almost anywhere. He had always found it hard to sleep on a plane and travelling on water made sleep all but impossible as far as he was concerned. Now, waiting his turn to climb the side of the Surreptitious he took a good look around. There was a slow swell bringing the boat together with the side of the sub and the clouds on the horizon heralded rain. The sun was low in the sky and would soon disappear behind the bank of cloud, setting early. Most worryingly the Surreptitious herself was listing to port as a result of the damage from the explosion. Tony grimaced, not looking forward to being on board during the coming storm.

"Hey DiNozzo, you coming?" Gibbs' voice startled him from his thoughts and, with a last look around he quickly scaled the conning tower ladder and climbed on board. Gibbs was already talking to the captain but once glance at his face told Tony all he needed to know. Nothing new from DC. He grimaced, he wouldn't want to be in McGee or Ziva's shoes right now, but Ducky should have finished the autopsy and Abby surely would have something by now. Revising his thoughts slightly he joined Gibbs and the captain just in time to hear the end of the captain's explanation.

"I'm sorry Agent Gibbs, there is just no way to get through right now."

DiNozzo noted the slight shift in Gibbs' eyes and, taking the hint, stayed silent. Gibbs nodded to him and introduced the two men briefly. "Captain Root, Special Agent DiNozzo."

"Captain," Tony nodded at the officer, stepping aside to let the team of engineers precede him down the hatch. The explosion had occurred aft of the engine room damaging one of the starboard ballast tanks and flooding two compartments. The chief engineer and two of his staff had been lost and were yet to be retrieved. The engineering team that had accompanied them hoped to make running repairs so that they could make their way to rendezvous with the two American destroyers who were heading their way.

Casting a last look around Tony followed Gibbs down the conning tower ladder. He was immediately assaulted by the noise and smells of a submarine. He knew from experience that they would soon fade into the background but for now the smell of oil was almost overpowering. Despite the tang he liked submarines, had always felt comfortable on board. Something was nagging at him now though and he'd worked for Gibbs long enough to know that you didn't ignore feelings like that.

The engineers had already moved forward by the time Tony set foot in the control room. He joined Gibbs and Captain Root around the chart table for a briefing.

"Why has radio contact been lost captain? Gibbs asked quietly. "Your mayday got through."

Root looked at him assessingly before saying abruptly. "Come to my cabin, we can talk there."

Gibbs looked briefly at DiNozzo, raising his eyebrows minutely before they both followed the other man without a word. Root led them into a tiny space, just big enough for a bunk and a compact desk, situated just aft of the control room. He gestured to the bunk and both agents sat down whilst Root took the only chair.

"Our communications have been sabotaged," he began quietly once the door was closed. "I haven't broadcast it, this is a young crew and I don't want panic but it looks like acid of some sort has been introduced into the circuitry. We were able to get off a mayday because it hadn't fully eaten through the cabling. It's a write off now. I instructed the launch that brought you to stand to, they can act as courier but their equipment doesn't have the range that ours did."

Gibbs pulled a face as he considered the options. "How long before the launch could rendezvous with the nearest destroyer?" he asked.

Root shrugged. "Last we heard she was nine hours from our position, that was four hours ago, communications were patchy then."

"They put it down to the storm front," Gibbs said. "Still had a fix on you though." He looked thoughtfully at DiNozzo who sat quietly beside him. "Where is your GPS transponder Captain?"

"In the control room," the captain replied thoughtfully, reaching for a wall mounted intercom panel. Calmly he ordered the COB to report to his cabin, remaining silent until the man arrived a few moments later. "Chief, I want you to place a guard over our GPS transponder," he ordered quietly.

"Aye Sir," the chief replied with calm efficiency before turning and leaving the tiny cabin. He had barely left the room when an explosion rocked the hull.

"What the hell?" Root echoed the thoughts of the NCIS agents as all three men shot to their feet and made for the control room.

"Report," Root demanded.

Gibbs, on his heels, was impressed at the calm efficiency on show, though he was conscious of the undercurrent of tension.

"The launch just blew up Captain," the XO reported, nodding towards the damage control teams making their way on deck.

"Damage?"

The XO shook his head. "She's gone Sir," he said quietly, "I've got spotters looking for men in the water. We've sprung a few loose plates but are not taking on water."

DiNozzo looked helplessly over at Gibbs seeing the fury he felt reflected in the older man's eyes. Clearly the saboteur was still on board and had struck again. They needed to determine his agenda sooner rather than later. Time to find out how Stevenson fit into things.

"Is there somewhere we can set up Sir?" Gibbs asked quietly. "We need to speak to Lieutenant Stevenson"

Root looked at him assessingly for a moment before calling the COB over and directing him to show the NCIS agents to the wardroom to wait for Stevenson.

"Thank you Sir," Gibbs began but the CO had already turned back to supervise the recovery operation.

Minutes later they sat on two sides of the small table in the wardroom waiting for Stevenson. DiNozzo had set up his laptop and brought up Stevenson's service record. On the surface it was exemplary but Tony had dug a little deeper before leaving the office and there were several informal complaints against the man. As yet they didn't know why they hadn't made it to his records.

Tony looked up at the tap on the doorframe. His son had looked a lot like him. He glanced across at Gibbs and waited for him to being the questioning. They had decided, by tacit agreement to talk to him first before breaking the news of his son's death. Sometimes it was necessary to be devious and Gibbs, straight talker that he was, was a master.

"Sit down Lieutenant," Gibbs gestured to the seat at the end of the small table. Stevenson, who was well over six foot, curled himself into the chair, his head to one side in what, Gibbs supposed, was a permanent state whilst working within the cramped confines of the submarine.

Gibbs pulled the file across the table so that it sat in front of him and looked steadily at the other man for a moment. Stevenson was unable to maintain eye contact and his gaze flicked across to DiNozzo who pretended interest in his laptop, not even raising his eyes. The silence stretched out, comfortably enough for the NCIS agents but not so for Stevenson. He tried to maintain an outward air of calm but beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and, listening carefully, DiNozzo could hear a slight hitch in the man's breathing. Barely a minute had passed before he looked up briefly at Gibbs and asked shakily. "Why am I here Sir?"

Gibbs didn't break his stare. "Why do you think Lieutenant? Surreptitious is dead in the water, the launch was just destroyed."

"You can't think that was me Sir," Stevenson protested wildly.

"Why not?" Gibbs asked mildly. "Give me a good reason"

DiNozzo smiled to himself as he watched the man play into Gibbs' hands.

"You can ask anyone, I never left my post."

"Never?" Gibbs continued, voice deceptively mild. "Not once during the past twenty four hours? You didn't go to the head? You were supervising the lines when we arrived, I saw you on the casing. You would have had plenty of opportunity to get near the launch."

"But I didn't Sir, I didn't leave the casing at all."

Tony looked up at the ring of truth in his words. Stevenson had relaxed somewhat too, so, he wasn't working alone DiNozzo reasoned. There was no doubt in his mind that the man was hiding something but equally obviously it hadn't been him that had blown up the launch.

Gibbs changed tack having reached the same conclusions as DiNozzo. He looked down at the folder in his hands. "There have been several complaints made against you Lieutenant," he began.

"None of which have ever been upheld Sir."

Gibbs smiled and looked carefully at him as he replied. "Your father is Rear Admiral in Norfolk I believe"

And there it was, the flash of resentment crossed his face before he could hide it and Tony knew that it wouldn't be long now before Gibbs had the truth.

Stevenson said nothing but his sullen silence spoke volumes. Gibbs looked at him for a moment and then simply asked, "Why?"

Stevenson seemed smaller when he spoke but his voice still held a note of defiance. "Because I mattered, I could actually make a difference and someone gave a damn."

Tony looked up sharply hearing the echo of past conversations with his father but he knew he could never have made the choice the other man had. Gibbs knew it too for he turned his head instinctively to look Tony in the eye for a moment, a slight smile on his face, before turning back and asking. "Who approached you, what did you have to do?"

Five minutes later both agents were reeling at the stupidity of the other man. He had betrayed his country, his shipmates all because of feelings of resentment towards his father and to someone whom he had never even seen. His contact had been at Norfolk and, unfortunately, Gibbs believed him when he said that he didn't know of another operative on board.

"Did they pay you?" Gibbs asked finally.

"No Sir," Stevenson's head came up in a faint echo of his precious defiance before his voice dropped to a whisper. "No Sir, I did it at first to get back at my old man, nothing big but then they held it over me and I couldn't get out."

"You didn't want to."

"I tried Sir, when it came to Surreptitious I did try but they," he swallowed, unable to go on.

"They threatened your son," Gibbs supplied, his face grim.

"How did…" Stevenson began before looking up into Gibbs' eyes, his face crumpling as he realised the truth.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to Mr VP for the Beta. Any remaining mistakes are mine. **

**AN Thank you so much for the reviews, they are really encouraging to receive. I have just finished the penultimate chapter so I think I can let you have this one now.**

They left Stevenson under guard in the wardroom. The man remained sat at the table a shadow of his former self. Gibbs went to report to the captain and sent DiNozzo aft to talk to the men, to see if he could get a feeling as to who the real saboteur was. It was obvious to Gibbs that Stevenson had been a minor player but he couldn't see him as someone who would have killed in cold blood, whatever the cause. No, there was at least one man aboard who was playing for much higher stakes.

Moments later he reached the control room and looked around the crowded space carefully. The atmosphere was tense, each man concentrating intently on the controls before him. Root stood calmly talking to his XO over the intercom and held up a hand when he saw Gibbs, asking him to wait.

"Captain?" Gibbs asked as Root broke the connection.

"Six bodies recovered from the water," Root spoke quietly for Gibbs' ears only. "No survivors."

Gibbs' mouth tightened. "What's the latest on the storm?"

"Approaching fast, we'll need to close up within a half hour." As he spoke the captain's eyes roved with practised ease over his domain before coming to rest on a monitor just as a piercing alarm sounded.

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DiNozzo made his way aft as quickly as he could but his path was interrupted several times as crewmen hurried past him intent on carrying out the repairs before the storm hit. Being able to submerge to ride it out was definitely a priority. There was an air of unease though which became more prevalent as Tony approached the engine room hatch. It was still sealed but engineers were getting ready to crack it. DiNozzo stood quietly to one side observing the crew. The engineers had all been vetted but, as far as he could tell, all of the crew members seemed completely focused on their task.

"Has the engine room been pumped out?" he asked the crewman who stood next to him.

"Yes Sir," the youngster, who couldn't have been more than nineteen, replied sombrely. "Your engineers have been able to put a patch onto the external plating." He licked dry lips quickly before hurrying forward to assist the engineers in breaking the seal.

The hatch was lifted slowly, no one being keen to be the first to see the horrors awaiting them. Such was the tension that everyone in the small area jumped when the hatch abruptly crashed to the deck. Recovering quickly DiNozzo's eyes were drawn to the small object that suddenly flew from the open hatch. He recognised it instantly but by then it was already too late. "Get down," he yelled, throwing himself towards the young seaman even as the percussive force of the stun grenade threw him to the deck. His hold on consciousness slipping rapidly he just made out a shadowy figure emerging from the open hatchway before his eyes slid closed.

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"What the …..," Root muttered as he signalled for the alarm to be silenced. "Damage control teams aft" he ordered. "Fire," he said succinctly at Gibbs' look.

Gibbs blanched, he had sent DiNozzo aft. With one last glance around the control room he took off after the damage control teams, being careful to stay out of their way. Moments later they reached a sealed compartment.

"Damage control," the DC rating keyed the intercom and announced their arrival, even as he tried to open the compartment. All of the damage control team were wearing breathing apparatus and Gibbs watched as the officer in charge checked the readouts on a panel.

"No fire," he reported, "high levels of smoke but it is being successfully expelled."

Gibbs and the XO who had accompanied him both nodded, relieved, but Gibbs' gut tightened as he realised that the hatchway to the next compartment remained obdurately sealed. With a sinking feeling he realised that they no longer needed to look for the saboteurs. The saboteurs had come to them.

"Can we get a visual of the next compartment?" he asked the XO.

"Sorry Sir, no can do, we can get readouts of O2 levels, temperature and so on but there are no cameras installed."

"Is there access from the other side?"

The XO shook his head. "Not from here. The forward torpedo room is the last compartment in the boat and is beyond this one. This is where your engineers were working to gain access to the engine room on the lower deck."

Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment trying to visualise the layout. "Blueprints? he asked succinctly.

"In the control room."

"Captain," Gibbs drew Root aside as soon as he reached the control room. "What can you tell me about your chief engineer?"

"He's dead," Root replied incredulously. "He drowned when the engine room flooded."

"Are you sure that it flooded?" Gibbs persisted. "Would it be possible to fake the readings up here in the control room?"

Root was about to protest but years of training took over and he tilted his head to the side as he considered the possibilities. "I suppose it could be done," he mused slowly. "But not many people would know how. It would be complicated, not just altering one reading. The trim, the ballast….."

"But a chief engineer could have done it?" Gibbs interrupted.

Root didn't reply but the look on his face told Gibbs all he needed to know.

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DiNozzo woke gradually, every muscle sore, whether from the effects of the stun grenade, of hitting the deck or simply his exhaustion he neither knew nor cared. He looked around slowly from where he lay, instinctively keeping still until he knew what he was facing. He was half on top of the young seaman he had tried to warn and could see two more bodies to his right. Listening carefully he could hear a quiet coughing from behind him and a soft hiss to his right but out of his field of vision. Telling himself to focus he tried to identify the sound, breathing gently through his nose so as not to cough. _Coughing, that was it, breathing apparatus. _Cursing his sluggish mind he rejoiced in the small victory. Obviously whoever threw the stun grenade wouldn't want to get caught in it themselves so, breathing apparatus.

He listened again, trying to decide if he could hear a second hiss when a sudden bang caught his attention and he twitched involuntarily. A heavy kick to the gut brought him fully awake and he rolled off the seaman with a groan.

"Nice of you to join us," the voice was masked by the breathing apparatus but was clear enough to understand easily. "Looks like your friends want to join us."

Tony closed his eyes then opened them fully, easing himself into a sitting position, one hand clutching his stomach. "Friends?" he queried, coughing to hide his disgust at asking such a stupid question.

The figure nodded its head towards the hatchway behind where it stood. As if on cue a hammering began again as the crew tried to break down the hatch.

Tony noticed the metal bar wedged across the opening, effectively sealing the compartment from the inside. He carefully took stock; besides himself there were two engineers, both coming to and three ratings, one of whom was still out cold. They were being 'supervised' by two men in breathing apparatus, both armed with combat knives. _So at least two saboteurs other than Stevenson, he reasoned and six hostages. Not insurmountable odds, unless there were more below in the engine room. _He tried to remember how many had been reported drowned but his sluggish thoughts refused to cooperate. Blinking rapidly he shook his head and then immediately regretted it as millions of tiny daggers erupted in his head, breathing deeply he tried again, opening his eyes slowly and focusing on the problem at hand. _Hostage situation, get the captors talking. _Knowing that Gibbs would want as much information as he could pass on he eased himself upright against the bulkhead and studied their captors. Going by his body language and the fact that he was the only one to have spoken so far the man in front of him was in charge. Yet Tony still had the niggling feeling that there was at least one person left in the engine room and gut instinct was never to be ignored. Sighing he settled back for a long wait.

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"The storm front is almost on us Sir," the lookout reporting from the bridge brought Gibbs' head up from where he was studying the blueprints in the chart room.

"Clear the bridge," Root ordered calmly. "Rig for heavy seas."

Gibbs grimaced, without power Surreptitious would be at the mercy of the weather, severe rolling would hinder any rescue attempts making an external approach via the torpedo room hatch all but impossible. _Damn, _he had hoped for a little more time. Closing his eyes he visualised the plans of the aft decks, making sure he had them committed to memory. He didn't want any more surprises.

"What can you tell me about your chief engineer Captain?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"Will Michaels, thirty six, been a submariner since he qualified, says he loves the life."

"Family?"

"Not married," Root paused. "Come to think of it I can't ever remember him talking about them. Born and brought up in Maine but he doesn't talk about that either."

Gibbs frowned, wishing he had contact with the rest of his team. McGee would soon be able to ferret out more details, probably already was. He had trained them well and knew that they would be seeking answers from their end whilst he and DiNozzo carried out the on board investigation.

DiNozzo, he frowned again, hoping that the younger man was unharmed. It looked as though they were going to be relying heavily on his instincts to get through this. Lucky he was so resourceful.

"I'm going aft," he said abruptly.

"Hostage situation?" Root queried.

"Looks that way," Gibbs nodded as he left the compartment.

Arriving at the sealed hatch moments later he looked questioningly at the XO. "Any contact?"

"Not yet Sir." The XO balanced lightly on the balls of his feet as Surreptitious dipped suddenly before righting herself. "Can't work outside in this Sir," he added, confirming Gibbs' earlier thoughts. "I wonder what they have planned?"

"Let's find out shall we," Gibbs replied, keying the intercom.

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Tony looked up as the intercom crackled to life. Their captors had been quiet for the past several minutes and he had the feeling they were waiting for something. Or someone. There had been no contact with the engine room but he just knew that there was still someone alive down there.

He looked around the small compartment, everyone was now awake but, despite the fact that the air was now clear, both of their captors still wore breathing apparatus. He wondered at that, it wasn't as though they needed to hide their identities, everyone on board knew everyone else. He paused, unless they had somehow stowed away. That was hardly more plausible than the idea of three or four saboteurs within the crew. Grimacing he tried to ease his aching muscles. Everything about this operation spoke of large scale planning, not to mention serious slip ups in security down the line. He looked up as the intercom chirped again. "Aren't you going to answer that?" he asked lightly, bracing himself as Surreptitious rolled violently.

"There's no hurry," the man behind the mask spoke slowly. "You're not going anywhere."

"Just seemed polite to answer," Tony said carefully, keen to keep the conversation going.

The intercom sounded again and DiNozzo thought he detected a flicker of annoyance in the man's eyes though it was hard to be sure. "He's just going to keep trying," he decided to push a little. "You're holding six hostages, he'll want to know why."

"Who is _he?_" the man asked and Tony felt a flash of triumph.

"Gibbs," he replied succinctly, seeing no benefit in giving too much away.

"Not one of the crew," the man mused. "Came with you then."

"But have you stopped to wonder why we came?" Tony taunted, deliberately trying to push a little harder.

"Kinda hard to miss when your precious sub stops dead in the water."

"See that's where you're wrong, on two counts actually," DiNozzo continued conversationally. "We were already on our way." _Well almost, _he added to himself. "We know all about Stevenson and your little plot. Course you helped us out by being sloppy with sabotaging the communications."

The kick, when it came, was not unexpected and he was able to roll away from the worst of it. It was just unfortunate, he admitted to himself when his head stopped spinning, that rolling against the bulkhead left his kidneys exposed to the second attack.

TBS


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to Mr VP for the Beta. Any remaining mistakes are mine.**

**AN Thank you so much for the reviews, they are really encouraging to receive.**

Gibbs bit down on his frustration as the intercom was repeatedly ignored and opted to speak first instead. He knew that DiNozzo would back any play he made without question and ruthlessly pushed down the little voice that kept repeating 'but maybe he can't.'_ Damn gut. _Pressing more firmly than he needed he keyed the intercom and spoke calmly, all trace of his inner turmoil hidden. "We need to speak to you," he began. "You must have something you need from us."

The wait seemed interminable but finally he was answered. Allowing himself a slight smile he listened carefully.

"We have no need to talk to you Gibbs, we hold all the cards."

_Gibbs? _Gibbs breathing quickened, there was only one way they could know his name. "I want to speak to my man," he demanded.

"You are in no position to be making demands," the voice rejoined coldly, "besides your man is in no position to answer you."

Gibbs' hands clenched into fists but his voice was calm when he replied. "I speak to DiNozzo or this goes no further." Looking over at the XO he queried. "You know who it is?"

"I think it may be Michaels, hard to be certain, sounds like he's wearing breathing apparatus."

Gibbs nodded; hardly surprising they would have had to use something to subdue the crew trying to open the hatch. Stun grenades would be top of the list. "How well do you know him?" he asked.

"Not well, keeps to himself, but I'd never have pegged him for something like this, traitorous bastard."

Gibbs snorted. "You weren't meant to he was probably planted years ago. It's my guess he's not a traitor at all."

"Who do you think he's working for?"

"Hard to tell for sure," Gibbs mused, "but this whole operation has been meticulously planned. Somewhere in the Eastern block probably."

The intercom crackled again interrupting him. "You can have thirty seconds," the man spoke without inflection but Gibbs thought he caught a hint of unease, as he said, he held all the cards. Jethro listened carefully to the slight rustling coming over the speaker before DiNozzo spoke. The pain in the younger man's voice was obvious to Gibbs but he suspected that no one else would have noticed.

"Bossman."

"You ok DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Never better Sir, Ari here is being real friendly."

"Everyone else?"

"Kinda like the second page of McGee's book" DiNozzo suddenly grunted in pain as the intercom was switched off.

Gibbs just heard a muffled "Enough" as the line was cut. He mentally applauded his agent as he took stock. "DiNozzo thinks we are talking to the man in charge," he said out loud.

"How do you know?" the XO queried.

"He always calls me Boss, never Bossman or Sir," Gibbs explained. "He's also injured, the Bossman, I think, has done something to his shoulder." At the XO's incredulous look he explained quickly. "Ari was a terrorist who liked to shoot people in the shoulder, no shots so they may be armed with knives. There are two of them," he continued slowly as he sorted his thoughts, "and six hostages."

"How on Earth…?"

"McGee's book is called 'Deep Six'," Gibbs interrupted impatiently, grabbing an overhead support as Surreptitious lurched again.

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DiNozzo eased back against the bulkhead and took as deep a breath as his throbbing shoulder would allow. Blood seeped through his fingers as he pressed against the wound, glaring balefully at the man in front of him. The 'Bossman's' eyes were cold behind his mask and he turned away without a word. Tony closed his eyes and prayed that Gibbs had understood. He wished he could have told him more though, truth to tell, there was little enough to add.

"Are you alright Sir?" a whispered voice to his left brought his eyes open and he looked into the worried face of the young seaman.

"Fine," he whispered back. "Our friend was just making a point," he grimaced at the unintentional pun whilst pushing harder in an attempt to stem the flow of blood from his shoulder. The combat knife had been driven deep though he didn't think it had caught any major blood vessels; there wasn't enough blood for that. He turned his head again at a movement. The seaman was pulling his shirt lose from his pants and proceeded to tear it into strips. The Bossman looked pointedly at him but said nothing so the young man continued until he had a handful of cloth which he offered to DiNozzo.

Tony took his hand away from his shoulder indicating that the seaman should apply the dressing. He quickly tucked it beneath DiNozzo's undershirt which he used to hold it in place as far as possible. "Thanks" Tony smiled at him, leaning back again, trying to brace himself against the almost continual rolling. Clearly the storm had hit, Surreptitious was foundering in the water, a situation that was unlikely to improve unless they could get under power.

"Surreptitious doesn't like the storm Sir," the seaman's voice held an edge and DiNozzo looked back over at him. The kid was doing well but there was no substitute for experience.

"Tony," he said, looking into the young man's eyes.

"Sir?"

"Not Sir, Tony," DiNozzo raised his eyebrows in mute question.

"Jack, Jack Williams"

"Pleased to meet you Jack," he broke off at a look from Bossman who, very deliberately, looked down at the knife he held in his hand. The knife already stained with DiNozzo's blood. Tony returned the stare evenly but kept still, there was nothing to be gained from false heroics. Instead he closed his eyes again and tried to think.

Bossman suddenly put his hand to his ear and braced himself. DiNozzo caught the movement and opened his eyes but he had no time to wonder what was going on as alarms sounded and Surreptitious began submerging. He braced his feet against the deck as best he could but found himself sliding towards Williams. The submariner had picked up immediately on what to expect and was able to support both of them until Surreptitious evened out again.

Tony felt a flash of triumph as he realised that Bossman must indeed have an accomplice in the engine room. He had been waiting for whatever message he had just received through his earpiece, another reason for the breathing apparatus. Immediately the motion of the boat became smoother as Surreptitious was able to ride out the storm at depth. He tried to take stock; obviously the boat was being controlled from the engine room but he didn't think that they would be able to hide everything from the control room. Captain Root and Gibbs would surely have some idea of where they were heading. The question was, could they do anything about it?

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Gibbs looked across at the Petty Officer who was acting as runner from the control room. "Anything?" he asked.

"Assuming the readings are accurate Sir we are heading west by south west into thousands of square miles of open water."

"Any sign of surface vessels or another submarine for that matter?" the XO spoke up.

"Captain Root says that sonar is showing clear Sir."

"Thanks PO," the XO acknowledged before turning to Gibbs. "Why do I get the feeling that the 'Bossman' will be even less likely to speak to us now than before?"

Gibbs just looked at him, eyes glazed in thought.

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"Come on McGee," Abby hit his arm impatiently as they worked together in her lab. The finger prints and searches on the bodies of the two cadets had been unsuccessful and they were now running in depth searches on Surreptitious' crew. The authorities had not been forthcoming with information but McGee had justified hacking into their computer network on the basis that Gibbs would need the information and wasn't there to ask. 'Better to ask forgiveness than to seek permission.' He knew it was one of Gibbs' rules though for the life of him couldn't remember which one.

All of the crew had been thoroughly vetted prior to joining the navy's newest experimental submarine. Each had unblemished service records yet they knew that Stevenson had been compromised through his son so they dug deeper.

"Is there any chance of a substitution?" Ducky had entered the lab and moved over to look at their results. "It's happened before as you recall."

"No way to know for sure Duckman," Abby replied. "We've not been able to find any photos of the crew from their time on board Surreptitious so, no comparisons."

"Sometimes being too secretive can leave one open to infiltration," the elderly ME mused.

"How so Ducky?" queried McGee.

"Well, if the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is up to Timothy," Mallard began.

"Then the right hand could be doing something behind the left hand's back so to speak."

"Exactly," Ducky nodded his head. "Where are you starting?"

"With the officers as it's likely they would have more chance to influence and control," Abby put in.

"If you're looking to control a submarine my dear, where would you start?" Mallard reasoned.

"Ultimately in the engine room," McGee began, "but they're all dead." Slowly he looked up, a gleam in his eye and together they chorused, "Never assume," before setting to work with renewed vigour.

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After repeated attempts to regain contact with Bossman had failed Gibbs had left the XO monitoring the situation and gone to consult with Root. The two had returned to his cabin adjacent to the control room.

"What I can't figure out is who could be involved," Root mused.

"China, Russia, Korea," Gibbs suggested, knowing that through tossing ideas about they may come up with some answers.

"We're in International waters," Root reasoned. "Even if engineering is tampering with our readings there hasn't been time to leave them. We're not travelling at maximum revolutions either."

Gibbs nodded, acknowledging the captain's experience.

"Any attack in these waters would result in an international incident, maybe escalate into another Cold War," Root continued thinking aloud.

Gibbs nodded again. "Only if there were any witnesses."

The captain paled. "You don't think," he began.

"Crews have been made to disappear before Captain," Gibbs interrupted. "We have to be realistic if we're going to come up with a counter attack."

"You're right of course," Root said quietly. "What about terrorists?"

"Can't rule 'em out," Gibbs agreed. "Are your warheads armed?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Then Captain, I suggest we'd better not let them fall into the wrong hands."

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DiNozzo sat up suddenly and cursed as he realised he'd fallen asleep. He rubbed his shoulder, using it as an excuse to change his position slightly and look around. Bossman was leaning with one leg braced against the bulkhead and his partner was at the other end of the compartment, both seemed alert, their eyes tracking every movement. The only sound was the thrumming of the engines. Tony hadn't the experience to tell how fast they were going but to his ears the revs seemed steady rather than overly speedy. It seemed likely that the saboteurs would want to protect their investment and she did have damaged plating after all.

He tucked his arm inside his jacket on the pretext of supporting his shoulder whilst surreptitiously reaching for his cell. He had no idea how deep they were but knew that given half a chance Abby would pick up his GPS signal if they came to the surface. Come to that perhaps she could get somewhere with satellite searches, he hoped that she thought to get in touch with her friend at NASA. Who was he kidding, this was Abby he was thinking about, she was bound to be way ahead of him. He looked around again, wondering whether or not to try and get Bossman talking again but as he met the man's eyes through his mask he recognised the futility of such an action even before Bossman looked deliberately from the knife in his hand to Seaman Williams beside him. This was no John Stevenson out for revenge on a controlling father; this was a cold blooded killer. Tony wasn't sure what motivated the man but it was obviously deep seated, probably a result of long held training or beliefs. Unknowingly his thoughts mirrored those of Gibbs and the captain as he tried to decide the most likely culprits behind the attack on Surreptitious. There were many groups and countries who would benefit from having such power within their grasp but few who could put together such a well co-ordinated operation. The question now was what could they do to stop them?

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to ****Mr**** VP for the Beta.**** Any remaining mistakes are mine.**

**AN: ****Thank you**** so much for your kind comments, I really appreciate them. I'm sorry this chapter is a little shorter; it was the right place to stop, if I get on ok with the writing tonight I'll try and post another chapter tomorrow.**

"Are you sure about this Gibbs, it seems very risky to me?

Gibbs looked askance at the XO wondering how the man had risen to second in command of the Navy's latest experimental submarine. He was saved from answering however by Root who looked pointedly at his officer before replying calmly. "Yes it's a risk Dan, the biggest risk is to the hostages which is why it's so important that it look like an accident, I don't want any reprisals."

"I still think we should play along for a bit longer Sir, when we surface…"

"When we surface," Gibbs interrupted. "Our chances of survival go down to approximately zero. You don't seriously think they will want any witnesses do you?""It's my job to lay out all the alternatives Sir" the XO replied huffily.

"Is that what you call it?" Gibbs began before thinking better of it and turning back to Root. "Well Captain, what do you suggest?"

"I think you're right Gibbs, the repairs could feasibly give way and we would then have to surface but there's no way I can get divers outside without them being aware of it. They would have to leave through the forward escape hatch and the explosive decompression would be felt throughout the boat."

"The repairs were to the starboard ballast tank weren't they? Is there any way of putting pressure on them from inside and blowing the seal so to speak?"

"By going deeper we would take on more water; to surface we would force the water out by pumping air in. Both could put pressure on the seal, I suspect that's why our friends have only initiated a shallow dive. Trouble is, anything we do from here is repeated in the engine room."

"We don't actually want to damage the repairs Captain," Gibbs suggested slowly. "Only to make it seem necessary or even imperative to surface."

"In that case, some poor work at the hydroplanes, coupled with a loud bang and an emergency blow just might do the trick." Root replied, a hint of a twinkle in his eye. "It will need careful timing, any hint that we are involved…" he trailed off.

"Unfortunately I think Bossman is unlikely to see it as an accident," Gibbs was sombre, "we can only do what we can, open the hatch, make sure we can't dive again. The rest is up to the hostages."

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It would have pleased DiNozzo if he'd known how closely his thoughts mirrored Gibbs'. He did know that they were running out of time and tried to consider all of the eventualities. In his heart he knew that given a suitable distraction, which he was confident Gibbs would provide, it was up to the six of them to go on the offensive. Realistically they would only get one chance but their captor had been over confident in not restraining them, relying on violence and the threat of further attacks to hold them in check. When it came down to it though fear of reprisal and injury paled somewhat when you considered the alternative, which, DiNozzo knew without a doubt, was certain death.

He twisted his arm slightly where it lay resting across his knees. They had been submerged for a little over ninety minutes. It was too much to hope that they were heading towards the naval destroyers sent to assist them but doubtless there were other US vessels in the Pacific. Most of which their captors would know about and avoid he realised. Basically then it came down to regaining control of the ship before they reached their captor's destination. Simple. He looked around the compartment; the engineers were all seasoned men and seemed alert and watchful. He thought that Williams would follow his lead. The main unknown remained whoever was in the engine room and for now he could do nothing about that. He drew his knees up tighter flexing his muscles and tried to ignore the ache in his shoulder as he stared impassively across at Bossman.

Tony barely registered the flash of alarm in his captor's eyes before all hell broke loose. A loud cacophony and startled shouts sounded from the next compartment and the deck suddenly tilted upwards as alarms keened all around. He was pinned to the bulkhead as if by an invisible hand and tensed ready to leap forward the instant the pressure was released.

Bossman had recognised the emergency blow for what it was and had managed to grasp the bulkhead with one hand while keeping a tight hold on his knife with the other. His eyes glared venomously at DiNozzo until, with a sudden roar, he leapt forward as the pressure eased. Tony was ready for him and pushed himself sideways as soon as he was able to move. The knife missed his back by inches but he landed on his injured shoulder and was too slow in turning back. Bossman leapt forward again raking the knife across DiNozzo's other shoulder as he turned. With a shout Tony swept his legs sideways catching his assailant in the shin. The man grunted but pressed forward intent on getting behind DiNozzo to use him as a shield but he was too slow. Williams jumped on his back with more strength than finesse giving Tony a chance to scramble to his feet and wrestle for the knife.

Bossman reared up to his full height and shook the young seaman off, Tony barely registered the grunt as Jack's head hit the overhead piping, he was too intent on keeping the knife from his face. Bossman fought like a man possessed. Both men had both hands around the knife and twisted and turned in the confined space. DiNozzo's strength was borne of desperation as he called on every trick that Gibbs had taught him, adrenaline coursing through his body. Suddenly Bossman went limp and he thudded to the ground taking Tony with him. Dazedly he looked up into the smiling face of one of the engineers before sinking to the ground himself, all energy gone.

He was aware of someone issuing orders and was suddenly inordinately glad not to have to think any more. He heard the hatch being opened and suddenly Gibbs was beside him, hand pressing the fresh wound in his right shoulder, eyes assessing, assuring himself that the situation was now under control.

"Two here, at least one in the engine room Boss," DiNozzo's voice was tight with the pain that he was forced to acknowledge as the tension left his body.

"Bossman?" Gibbs asked.

Tony tilted his head to nod at the man on the deck. The COB pocketed the knife before removing the breathing apparatus. Gibbs raised his eyebrows at him.

"It's Michaels Sir," the Chief confirmed.

"Michaels?" DiNozzo asked.

"Chief Engineer," Gibbs supplied before nodding over at their second captor who was being held firmly between two of the engineers. One of the chief's men removed his breathing apparatus and identified him as a machinist's mate.

"Keep them restrained and apart Chief," Gibbs ordered, indicating the engine room hatch by their feet and mouthing, "Stun grenade?" to DiNozzo.

"Always did like poetic justice Boss," Tony agreed, watching as Gibbs grabbed a spare grenade from Michael's belt as he was dragged away. The ex gunny quickly pulled the pin before dropping the grenade down the hatchway and locking the hatch in place. He had a grim half smile on his face as he returned and looked down at his agent.

"Come on DiNozzo," he said. "Let's get you patched up then we'll see what we've got."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to ****Mr**** VP for the Beta.**** Any remaining mistakes are mine.**

**AN: ****Thank you**** so much for your kind comments, I really appreciate them. ****Another ****shortish**** chapter, sorry but, hey, two chapters in two days.**

DiNozzo leaned back in the narrow cot in the ship's infirmary, his hand reaching up absently to pick at the dressing on his shoulder. It was slapped away as Gibbs came in and sat down beside him.

"Leave it," Gibbs ordered as Tony opened his mouth to complain. He turned to the corpsman before asking, "How is he?"

_"He _is fine," DiNozzo interrupted but Gibbs ignored him and waited for a reply.

"The stab wound in his left shoulder bled profusely Sir but hasn't caused any serious damage. The slash on the right needed a dozen stitches and Agent DiNozzo will need to keep it immobilised for a while."

Gibbs nodded his thanks and looked assessingly at his agent. "How do you really feel Tony?" he asked at last.

DiNozzo stared at his boss, knowing better than to try and be less than truthful. "I'm a little tired," he admitted, "but I've taken the painkillers and I'm good to go."

Gibbs looked at him a moment longer before reaching behind him for a white T shirt he had commandeered, he handed it over without another word, helping Tony to lift it over his head when he struggled to raise his arms.

"It seems that the third member of the engineering team was alone in the engine room. The chief's men recovered him when the smoke cleared."

"You want to have a go at Michaels first?" DiNozzo asked, stumbling slightly as he got to his feet.

Gibbs gave him a look but said nothing as he reached out a hand to steady him. "Yeah, Doc here has checked him over," he said indicating the medical corpsman. "Nothing worse than a hangover. Captain Root has altered course to rendezvous with the destroyers but they may have had to alter course to avoid the storm. We've submerged again to periscope depth."

"I don't think he'll talk," DiNozzo mused. "I think he's too far gone, he was almost fanatical when he attacked me, unbalanced."

"He certainly hasn't said a word yet," Gibbs replied. "What worries me is that he's too calm, too complacent, he knows he hasn't lost yet."

"Well, that's true enough, all we've done is take back control, his friends are out there somewhere."

"Let's see if we can't ask him the right questions to find out where then," Gibbs replied, "or maybe 'who' he added as an afterthought.

Tony smiled across at Jack who occupied the only other cot in the tiny compartment. "Thanks Kid," he said quietly. "You did good."

Williams smiled back wanly, lifting his hand in a careful wave as the NCIS agents left the room.

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Michaels had been tied to the same chair in the wardroom that Stevenson had occupied. He had been moved to his berth. Bossman sat upright and impassive staring straight ahead. Gibbs sat down opposite but Tony stayed behind him leaning against the hatchway, neither man spoke.

They stayed that way for almost five minutes before the urge to gloat became too much for Michaels. He smiled over at Gibbs and the older man could see the fanaticism in his eyes. This may have been a man planted as a sleeper agent but, if so, he had been left too long before being activated and his fervour had tipped over into insanity. He was now a liability to whoever controlled him but that was fine by Gibbs, he had no qualms at all about using whatever worked. He didn't have to wait long before Michaels spoke.

"They will find you, you have solved nothing"

"On the contrary," Gibbs' voice was calm. "You no longer hold any hostages."

"Ha," the reply was gleeful. "You are mistaken my friend, I hold the entire crew hostage."

Gibbs looked up at DiNozzo. "He's full of fancy talk isn't he?"

"Rambling I'd say Boss," DiNozzo agreed without moving. "Far as I can see it's only Michaels here and his friends that are imprisoned now."

"You think you are so clever," boasted the former chief engineer. "Trying to trick me with fancy words."

Gibbs looked puzzled. "Nothing fancy about the truth," he said bluntly. "We're holding you, not the other way around."

"You may hold most of the cards now but I have a winning hand," Michaels held Gibbs' impassive gaze without flinching, neither man breaking eye contact until Gibbs abruptly stood and nodded at DiNozzo.

"Thank you," he said simply and left the wardroom followed by his agent. "Keep a close eye on him," he ordered the guard. "Any change in his manner report it at once."

Gibbs moved far enough away to be out of earshot before speaking. "He's sure his 'friends' will find us, must have planted a homing signal or something."

"It makes sense Boss," DiNozzo mused. "He couldn't have guaranteed taking hostages and the odds of keeping them certainly weren't in his favour."

"Trouble is, we have no idea how long ago he could have planted it. Could have been in place since commissioning then he simply waited until Surreptitious was deployed in the right area before triggering the explosion."

"Wouldn't there be too big a risk of someone picking up the signal early?"

"Do I look like McGee, DiNozzo?" Gibbs retorted. "Most important thing now is to find it then we either disable it or use it to lure them into a trap."

"Well, it can't be relying on the ship's internal communications system," Tony reasoned.

"We'll get Root to detail the crew to look, they might recognise it when they find it," Gibbs said tightly. "Go and fill him in then come and join me, I'll be talking to the MM."

DiNozzo nodded, adjusting his sling as he headed for the control room. His shoulder was beginning to throb again but he could feel the tension as adrenaline was pumped through his body. Things were coming to a head; he just hoped they'd be ready for them when they did.

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Two hours later and the search had yielded no results nor had Gibbs elicited any further information from the other conspirators. Clearly Michaels was in charge and had recruited the others in the same way as Stevenson, either for money or, in the engineer's case, by appealing to a highly subversive nature. Both were only too keen to talk but neither had been told any more than they needed to know to do the job. Gibbs sighed in frustration as he and DiNozzo made their way back to the control room. The younger man looked about ready to drop but Gibbs knew that his stubbornness was almost a match for his own and decided not to call him on it, for the moment.

Root was bending over the chart table talking to his navigating officer. He looked up when they arrived, grimacing at Gibbs' shake of the head.

"Damn, I was hoping," he trailed off. "Nothing this end either, we've almost reached the rendezvous, I was just about to take a quick look with the attack periscope."

Gibbs nodded again, moving to stand with DiNozzo off to the side as Root pressed his eyes to the viewer and asked for the periscope to be raised. The captain did a quick 360 degree turn before ordering "Down scope," and reporting back. "We're still in the thick of the storm, visibility is down to less than a half mile but there are no surface ships in sight. They'd be making heavy weather in these seas, probably had to leave the area until the storm passes." He turned to the sonar operator who was both watching and listening intently to his equipment. "Anything Peters?" he asked calmly.

"No Sir, only contact is a school of dolphins, they followed us for a few minutes but they've gone now."

Root looked puzzled. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Dolphins can sense the weather, they shouldn't have been anywhere near a storm like this."

Peters paled slightly. "The readings were just like those we picked up a couple of weeks ago Sir," he said. "But you're right Sir, they shouldn't be there."

"Check your equipment," Root ordered. "Get someone to help you."

"Aye Sir."

"Captain?" Gibbs queried.

"I'm very much afraid that we've just found Michael's ace in the hole," Root said. "Without sonar we're as good as blind in this soup."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to ****Mr**** VP for the Beta.**** Any remaining mistakes are mine.**

**Thanks again for your lovely reviews ****they**** really help the writing process. I'm sorry not to have replied to all of them personally yet but I've been writing. Hope you like the results.**

DiNozzo leaned against the periscope and watched as Surreptitious' crew efficiently dismantled the sonar panel. Within minutes it was clear that the information being sent to the operator was being sent from elsewhere in the boat and was a recording of previous readings. Root quickly despatched crew members to engineering to begin the search while the crew in the control room worked to restore live feed. Beside him Gibbs was still but DiNozzo could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

"He's blinded us DiNozzo," Gibbs spoke at last. "But he doesn't want to sink us, not without hope of recovering Surreptitious herself anyway. There must be more."

DiNozzo raised his voice. "Captain, could that feed be used to tell someone else where we are?"

Root looked over at his sonar technician, eyebrows raised in question.

"Never heard of it being done before Sir," Peters said slowly. "The signal has to be broadcast to this receiver though, I suppose if it was amplified and someone else knew the frequency to listen in on." He hung his head. "It would take some doing and be pretty sophisticated but Sir; I think it could be done."

"Is it shut down now?" Gibbs asked, moving forwards even as Root ordered the attack periscope raised again. The captain's body language was controlled but there were tight lines of tension round his neck.

"Nothing," Root said lowering the scope. "Change course to bearing one six zero and increase speed to maximum revolutions." He raised his hand to stall the XO's protest. "They probably already know where we are Jim, let's move away a little, quickly, then we'll slow down and change direction again."

DiNozzo, like Gibbs before him, was impressed by Root, not surprisingly perhaps as he was skipper of the Navy's latest multi million dollar investment. Then again, four of the crew had been found to be subversive, it would be interesting to know if they really were who they said they were he mused. Stevenson certainly was though; perhaps personnel needed a radical rethink in how they evaluated their crews.

Root held the course for twenty minutes before ordering a decrease in speed and changing direction. They were still moving blindly through the water with only skill and educated guesses to go on as far as direction went, never mind obstacles in their way. Periodically the captain swept the water on the surface and just below with the attack periscope but every time found nothing in sight.

Gibbs had just decided to have another crack at Michaels to see if the revelation that they had found the sonar loop would trigger any reaction when he was called over the intercom to go to the wardroom at once. He covered the short distance in seconds, DiNozzo on his heels, and poked his head through the doorway before looking enquiringly at the guard.

"He hadn't moved or said anything for ages Sir," the guard reported, "so I went in and had a look, he's not right Sir."

Gibbs pushed past him and hurried to stand in front of Michaels. The man was staring straight in front of him as before but his eyes were fixed open, he didn't even blink. Gibbs wafted his hand in front of Michael's face but still received no response and felt for a pulse at his neck. It was very slow but steady.

"Catatonic," he said with frustration.

"He taken something?" DiNozzo asked. "We miss anything?"

In answer Gibbs ordered the guard to call the medical corpsman to take blood. "Don't move him though," he insisted. "Who knows what's going on in that twisted mind of his."

Frustrated he led the way to where the other prisoners were being held in adjoining compartments. They were both alert and scared but had nothing more to add.

"Control room?" DiNozzo asked quietly, recognising the signs of irritation in his boss.

"Yeah," Gibbs agreed, relaxing slightly and giving Tony a tight smile. "That's where the action's going to be for a while."

They had just re-entered the dimly lit control room when the sonar operator reported calmly, "Contact Sir, bearing two four six degrees."

DiNozzo's eyes quickly scanned the compartment and noticed the clutter had been removed. Clearly they had repaired the sonar equipment. Not before time.

"Close all watertight doors," Root ordered. "Keep present course, silent running."

"Friend or foe?" Gibbs asked sotto voce.

"Now there's the question Gibbs," Root replied just as quietly. "Close too, we haven't got full range out of the sonar yet."

"Do they know we're here?"

"No way to know yet, we'll change course shortly, see if he follows."

Root kept them on course for another two minutes before ordering a course change; they all waited silently, eyes on the sonar operator, alert to his every movement. Finally he reported.

"Contact Sir, I think he's made us."

"Bearing?"

"One three zero degrees Sir."

"Change course to two nine five degrees for five minutes and then resume original heading," Root ordered. "Take us down to a hundred and fifty feet."

Tony shook his head to clear it, the world was going fuzzy around the edges but he couldn't afford to give in to it now. Where was the adrenaline when you needed it he wondered, beginning to have a new appreciation for Gibbs' love of coffee.

"Any sign of a second signal?" Gibbs asked beside him. "Might the destroyers have been separated by the storm?"

"Only one signal Sir," Peters replied on a glance from Root.

"It was a doozy of a storm," Root supplied, "could have separated the ships. It's still running quite a sea up there now." He ran his hand over his face. "Take us back to periscope depth Conn, let's have another look see"

Tony found himself holding his breath as Root did a quick 360 with the periscope. They were in a hell of a situation, no way to make contact or send out a signal and even if the captain recognised the vessel could he be sure that it was a friendly contact? Subversives had taken Surreptitious for a while after all.

Root said nothing as he lowered the periscope and walked contemplatively over to the chart table where he compared the last known position of the destroyers with his best estimate of their own present position.

"It could be one of ours," he said finally, though to Tony's ears his voice lacked conviction. "It's an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. USS Gonzalez was one of the ships sent to help us and she's Arleigh Burke class."

"Are they still following us?" Gibbs asked, moving to stand beside Root. Tony joined him, looking down at the neatly annotated chart preferring to have something to focus his thinking.

"Contact turned thirty seconds after we did Sir," Peters reported.

"Which direction was Michaels heading?" DiNozzo asked, wanting clarification of his reading of the chart. He tried furtively resting his left hand against the chart table, needing the prop, but lowered it again almost immediately as a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. Beside him Gibbs moved closer and grasped his elbow in silent support. Tony shot him a grateful look as Root replied, showing them Michaels' course on the chart.

"So he was heading away from the destroyers," Tony summoned up the last of his reserves. "And we reversed that course nearly three hours ago now. Isn't it more likely to be a friendly vessel?"

Root nodded slowly, making his own assessment. "Odds are certainly in our favour," he agreed. "Right Gentlemen," he nodded to Gibbs and DiNozzo and beckoned the XO over to the chart table. "Worst case scenario?"

"The vessel's a hostile and she threatens us as soon as we surface," the XO said grimly.

"What does she threaten us with?" Gibbs asked mildly, his hand never leaving Tony's arm. "He doesn't want to sink us."

"Maybe they'd rather sink us than lose us," the XO continued stubbornly.

"They're more likely to try subterfuge than force," Tony suggested, tired of the XO's attitude, he seemed to have a one track mind. "Play along until they can get on board."

"Then what would they do, take more hostages?"

Tony looked bemusedly at the XO, unsure why he was being so hostile himself but was saved from answering by Gibbs who answered bluntly. "Blow the ballast and go straight to the bottom, Surreptitious could easily be recovered and they don't give a damn about anyone on board."

Root considered for a moment. "Jim, detail all non essential men to go to both the forward and rear escape compartments and have them hook up to the emergency oxygen, make sure they are armed. That way if they do try sending us to the bottom most of the crew will survive and be able to fight back. You go too, I need someone to take charge." He looked over at Gibbs who shook his head slightly, whatever happened they needed to see it through, he knew that DiNozzo felt the same.

A look passed between Captain and Executive Officer before the XO reluctantly acknowledged the order and began his preparations.

Root ordered a course change to give his men time to carry out his orders, steering away from the destroyer's current path in the hope of sighting the companion vessel and perhaps confirming that they were US ships.

Gibbs steered DiNozzo into a seat vacated by the Navigating officer who had been instructed to go with the XO. The younger man looked pale and he could feel him shaking slightly beneath his hand. His senior field agent was still thinking clearly enough though and Gibbs knew that the last thing Tony would want would be to be sent away at this point so he simply held on a little tighter as DiNozzo wavered in the seat.

Tony felt as though he was looking at everything behind a screen. Everything was distorted, people moved slowly, in marked contrast to the voices which, though hushed, seemed to be following each other in quick fire succession. He felt the boat begin to rise and, to his battered senses, it seemed to float. Gibbs' face loomed large in front of him as banging echoed round and a sudden rush of cold air started to bring his world back into focus. He shook his head carefully, wishing that Gibbs would let go of his arms, his shoulders hurt and why was the Boss holding him anyway?

Suddenly he felt Gibbs stiffen and he forced his head up to look over the older man's shoulder as two black canisters tumbled down the conning tower ladder bringing back his screen. He blinked, trying to clear his head, hearing Gibbs coughing. _Or was that him? _Tony was no longer sure as he felt Gibbs' grip weaken and his tenuous hold on reality deserted him altogether.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to ****Mr**** VP for the Beta.**** Any remaining mistakes are mine.**

**Thanks again for your lovely reviews ****they**** really help the writing process. I'm sorry not to have replied to all of them personally yet but I've been writing. Hope you like the results.**

Gibbs looked up warily at the muzzle of a gun pointing directly at him. His head was pounding and there was a weight on his legs pinning him to the deck. He squinted downwards, finally making out the still form of his senior field agent lying half on top of him. The realisation brought his senses rushing back. Tony was unconscious with fresh blood marring the white T shirt as his wounds had reopened when he fell. Keeping his eyes on the gun Gibbs eased his legs out from beneath DiNozzo, being careful to keep a hand under the younger man's head. Tony stirred and moaned slightly his eyes fluttering open as Gibbs settled his head onto his lap.

"Boss?" he whispered.

"Sshh," Gibbs soothed, his hand on the younger man's arm keeping him still. DiNozzo brought his knees up in pain and Gibbs moved a hand to his forehead both to check his temperature and to prevent himself from hurting Tony further. DiNozzo stilled under his touch, relaxing slightly and Gibbs looked up past the gun into the emotionless face of a man wearing marine combat uniform, he wore breathing apparatus dangling from his neck. Beyond him were several more equally expressionless men holding weapons on those of Surreptitious' crew who remained in the control room.

"Here we go again"

Tony's muttered curse drew Gibbs' attention and he followed his gaze back into the face of the first marine. The uniform looked genuine enough but you could get a hold of combats readily if you knew where to look. As he watched an officer walked back into the control room from the rear compartment, he looked around the control room until his eyes fell on the NCIS agents.

"You Gibbs?" he asked quietly.

Gibbs nodded but offered nothing further, preferring to wait for more information.

"Are you alright Sir," the officer continued, eyeing the rest of the crew cautiously.

"More or less Major," Gibbs answered indicating DiNozzo who was struggling to get up from his lap, hating to feel at a disadvantage. Jethro eased a hand behind his back and supported him carefully until he was upright, leaving his hand there when the younger man wavered.

"We found four men in restraints Sir," the Major said without inflection.

Gibbs nodded again. "Michaels the chief engineer is in the wardroom, he's catatonic. Stevenson and the others are in crew quarters," he said carefully, unsure of the major's intent.

"Any others?"

Gibbs paused; this was the crunch, if their present captors were who they seemed to be all was well, if not the man in front of him was seeking information. He felt Tony tense beside him, ready to follow his lead.

The major obviously realised his problem as he suddenly stood to attention before speaking again. "I'm sorry Sir; I can see your dilemma. We are attached to the USS Gonzalez. We were sent to assist when Surreptitious first sent out her distress call but had to take refuge from the storm. We were separated from our sister ship at that time. When we picked up your signal we knew it was you but we didn't know whether you had been compromised or not. I'm sorry about your heads," he concluded ruefully, looking around the control room sympathetically.

Root struggled to his feet and extended his hand. "I'm sure we would all rather have a headache than be back in enemy hands Major?"

"Sorry again Captain, Major Halls."

"How could you have been sure it was us?" DiNozzo asked quietly, still leaning slightly against Gibbs.

"You'll have to ask the captain for the full details I'm afraid," Halls smiled. "Something about a Miss Sciuto and a satellite."

Gibbs smiled and relaxed somewhat even as Tony burst out. "I knew it; she tracked our cells when we came to the surface."

"Gonzalez's sonar operators had picked up your signal but, as I said, we couldn't be sure either if it was you or indeed if you had been taken. Your people," Halls indicated Gibbs, "have kept us informed of the situation. We knew about Stevenson and they had their own suspicions about Michaels."

"I need to speak with them," Gibbs said, putting his arm carefully under DiNozzo's elbow and getting them both to their feet. "Michaels was expecting support, they must be out there somewhere."

"The captain was hoping to rendezvous with the Roosevelt within the hour Sir; we re-established contact shortly before boarding Surreptitious."

"Any other activity?" Gibbs directed his question to both Root and Halls.

"The Enterprise and an escort have been despatched to the area but will not arrive for another twenty three hours," Halls supplied, consulting his watch. "Sonar hadn't picked up any further activity when we left Gonzalez."

"We need to get over there," Gibbs decided. "Can you arrange for Michaels and the others to be transported across as well?" he asked Root.

Root nodded and began issuing orders, both for the transfer and to the XO and his men waiting by the forward escape hatch.

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS

Twenty painful minutes later DiNozzo stood with Gibbs on the deck of the Gonzalez. Not wanting to suffer the indignity of being stretchered over he had instead insisted on climbing the conning tower ladder and then scrambling down into the waiting boat and back up the Gonzalez's side. A decision he was now, in part, regretting. It was cold on deck after Surreptitious' control room and the chill was aggravating his already throbbing shoulders. Shivering slightly he turned his back to the wind. Gibbs was talking with Gonzalez' commander and Tony tuned into their conversation just as Commander Jackson turned away to escort them to the captain. He followed them up yet more steps until they reached the bridge and they were introduced to Gonzalez' captain, a no nonsense, cut to the chase man if appearances were anything to go by. He and Gibbs should get along well.

Captain Fenner took them into his day cabin and nodded at Jackson to close the door. "What can you tell us Gibbs?" he asked as soon as they were alone.

Gibbs quickly outlined everything that they knew and what they surmised ending with his conviction that Michael's had been expecting company and that they couldn't be far away. "I need to speak to my people in Washington Captain," he concluded five minutes later.

Fenner nodded. "Of course, we have been in contact ourselves since the storm abated and allowed communication. Indeed it was your Miss Sciuto who identified Surreptitious' location."

Gibbs' eyes warmed slightly in acknowledgement before he and DiNozzo followed Fenner back onto the bridge and into the radio shack. The shack was, in reality, little more than an alcove off the main bridge deck but it offered a degree of privacy and the NCIS agents were left alone once the radio operator had established contact.

Abby's voice burst from the speakers. "Captain! Did it work? Was it them? Are they OK?"

Gibbs' lips twitched, picturing the excitable Goth, beside him DiNozzo smiled tiredly. "We're fine Abbs," he said, knowing that Tony would forgive the white lie. Telling Abby that her friend had been injured would only worry her. He instinctively stepped back waiting for the expected scream.

"Gibbs," the shriek must have carried on to the bridge but Abby continued on at a slightly lower volume. "Oh I'm so glad to see you, well not to see you because we're only talking but to hear you and…"

"Abbs," Gibbs interrupted gently, then a second time more forcefully until she stopped and took a breath. It certainly sounded as though she had been living on caffeine for the past couple of days, probably had. He tried a third time. "Abbs, what can you tell me?"

Recognising the tone in Gibbs' voice Abby slipped into reporting mode. "Well you must know how we found you from the captain, that was so cool," she stopped again, correcting herself. "But you don't want to hear about that now. Right. Anyhow, I think your cell must be almost out of power by the way, nowhere near as strong a signal as Tony's."

Gibbs exchanged a fondly exasperated look with DiNozzo but didn't have long to wait before Abby continued. "Well, anyway, McGee was looking around in," she paused momentarily before continuing. "Um McGee was looking and he found out that one of the crew's records was almost too perfect. So perfect in fact that he started digging deeper. Turns out that William Michaels the Chief Engineer is actually dead. Well I know he is dead now because he drowned in the explosion that flooded the engine room but the real William Michaels died as a teenager along with the rest of his immediate family in a car wreck."

"It was very tragic Jethro," Ducky's voice piped up over the speaker. "But as a result of the entire family being lost someone was able to take over the young man's identity a few years later."

"He's not dead," Tony supplied helpfully.

"The records were quite clear Tony," McGee took his turn at the mike. "They were well buried but once I found them it was an easy trail to trace back."

"That Will Michaels may be dead McGee but ours is very much alive. No-one in engineering died in the explosion, they caused it and faked the readings that made everyone think that engineering had been flooded."

"Oh dear," Ducky muttered darkly, his agile mind already seeing the possibilities.

"Exactly Duck," Gibbs cut in. "We think that he was a sleeper but don't know whose agent he was. He took some of the crew hostage and he and his friends took over the ship for a while. It's a long story," he spoke quickly to cut off the expected interruptions. "No time to go into it now. His friends are still out there. Have you tracked down any of Michaels' contacts? What about the cadets?"

"I completed the autopsies but there's nothing to add. I surmised that both knew their killers and saw no reason to try to escape."

"I interviewed the other cadets in their group," Ziva spoke up, her calm delivery in marked contrast to Abby. "They reported seeing both Blake and Stevenson arguing at a bar with a couple they drank with regularly. They left in a car together the same night that the cadets were killed. We have identified one of the men on the CCTV footage from the traffic cameras outside the bar. Wayne Gibson, he's wanted in Maryland for murder."

Gibbs exchanged a look with DiNozzo but McGee spoke again before they could ask anything further. "I found a money trail Boss, it took some tracking through multiple servers and dummy accounts but the trail leads back to Michaels, he was the one who hired them. We figured he must have hired Gibson and his partner to put pressure on Stevenson and somehow they either got confused or Blake got in the way."

"Damn," Tony muttered, "dead end."

"When did you pick up Michaels' trail McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Haven't found anything definite until he started basic training Boss," McGee sounded frustrated. "There are a few things to dig deeper into but nothing concrete yet."

"So we're still guessing who Michaels was working for," Gibbs mused.

"Perhaps not for much longer," Fenner interrupted having come into the radio shack in time to hear Gibbs' speak. 'Sonar's picked up a signal."

"Keep at it." Gibbs ordered, "We'll be in touch." With that he broke the connection and followed Fenner and DiNozzo out onto the bridge.

The sky was heavily overcast, the storm clouds still visible on the horizon but the rain had stopped although the wind screamed overhead, scurrying into every nook and cranny. Tony shivered, pulling his borrowed windbreaker more tightly around himself. He was beyond tired, everything ached and all he wanted was a hot shower, pizza and his bed, not necessarily in that order. He looked across at Gibbs noting that the older man was looking pretty haggard himself; it had been a long couple of days. His attention was caught by the sonar operator reporting his findings and he realised that it hadn't been the first time the man had spoken. Pulling himself together he moved closer to the small group.

"Contact is definitely a sub Sir and there are two further contacts, they seem to be escorting the sub, flanking her. Both appear to be on the surface."

"Thank you Jarvis," Fenner said moving over to the chart table where he conferred quietly with his navigating officer for a moment before asking. "How long before Roosevelt joins us?"

"Just received word Sir," the radio operator reported. "They are approaching from the west and should resume position within twenty minutes."

"And the contact?"

"We will rendezvous in approximately ten minutes Sir."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: NCIS and its characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this. **

**Many thanks to ****Mr**** VP for the Beta.**** Any remaining mistakes are mine.**

**Thank you for reading and for your wonderful reviews they really encourage me to write. I hope that you enjoy the last chapter.**

Fenner whirled around and ordered the ship to action stations just before all hell broke loose.

"Incoming," the calm report echoed around the bridge momentarily before Fenner ordered an emergency turn.

DiNozzo listened to the report in some disbelief. Sure he had been under fire before but never like this, this had an air of unreality about it. He looked around taking in the tense posture of the men around him, they were all professional, all highly trained for the job in hand but each showed signs of unease in their own way. Some in the tautness of their muscles, others around the eyes or in the restless movements of their hands. Tony looked to Gibbs beside him and felt reassured. The older man was behaving as he always did when under fire or preparing to enter a suspect building. The very familiarity allowed Tony to relax slightly and to realise what was really wrong. "I hate this," he exclaimed, not realising that he had spoken aloud until Gibbs turned to him, eyes questioning.

"This," DiNozzo gestured, "being on the sidelines, having nothing to do."

"Yeah," Gibbs muttered before grabbing the younger man's arm as the Gonzalez began a rapid turn to starboard. "Guess they're not waiting to find out who's holding Surreptitious."

Tony winced as he stumbled slightly against Gibbs, his usual poise deserting him courtesy of blood loss and exhaustion. Smiling in apology he pulled himself upright and widened his stance against the ship's roll.

Suddenly an almighty explosion echoed aft and they were both thrown to the deck as Gonzalez rocked violently, hit somewhere towards the stern. Somehow Fenner had remained on his feet, practise Tony supposed and watched as the captain calmly ordered a counter attack while the XO ordered damage control and medical teams aft.

"Any attack on Surreptitious?" Gibbs asked, already pretty sure of the answer. The enemy wouldn't want to sink Surreptitious but clearly didn't give a damn about Gonzalez or the people on board her.

"None," Fenner shook his head grimly. "Only one missile fired at us too, they may just want to disable us."

"Not if we're able to identify them."

"Good point," Fenner conceded briskly, looking over briefly at the two NCIS agents still on the deck. Gibbs was tending to his agent who was pale and sweating and Fenner remembered the difficulty the younger man had had in climbing down Surreptitious' casing one handed. "You need help there Gibbs?" he asked.

Gibbs shook his head, easing DiNozzo back to his feet, the fall had been painful for the younger man but it didn't look as though any further damage had been done. He'd make sure he got checked out properly at the first opportunity though. He noticed that Gonzalez had continued to turn and listened attentively to the reports coming in.

"We've lost control," he muttered to DiNozzo, not wanting to disturb Fenner further.

"Lucky shot, took out the propeller shaft," Tony added, watching as Gonzalez continued her turn, slowing all the while. Out of the corner of his eye he caught movement and realised that Surreptitious was submerging again.

"Captain Root is going to shadow us, go down just a few feet below us to merge his signal with Gonzalez," the XO spoke quietly next to them and Gibbs was grateful to Fenner for keeping them in the loop.

"Roosevelt has launched her birds, give us an over view," Commander Jackson said, at Tony's puzzled look he continued. "The newer Arleigh Burke class ships are equipped with two sea hawks; maybe they can at least take some shots to help us identify these guys."

Gibbs nodded thoughtfully, looking at the deep cloud cover overhead. Satellite images were out for the moment but with a helo they may get lucky. It all depended on just how determined their attackers were and how realistic. They must be aware by now that Roosevelt was almost back in company with her sister ship and that Surreptitious was clearly not going to join them so she couldn't have been captured. He thought further continuing aloud so as to get Tony's input. "They must have been expecting Surreptitious to join them," he said. "The attack on Gonzalez was probably just a cover to let her break contact. Damn it," he slammed his fist against the wall. "We're going to lose them."

Tony nodded. "They're going to cut and run," he fumed, already moving over to Fenner who had been listening and was asking for a sonar report.

"Two contacts have changed course Sir, moving away rapidly."

"Inform Roosevelt," Fenner ordered. "Tell her to make best speed to follow." He looked back to Jarvis. "The third contact?" he asked.

"Gone Sir, it was one of the surface vessels, we hit her with our attack."

"And now she's heading to the bottom of the deepest ocean in the world," Gibbs muttered, his frustration showing.

"May still be survivors Boss," Tony put in.

"Possible but not likely Agent DiNozzo if she went down that quickly."

Tony glared at Jackson, he knew that well enough, he also knew how to manage Gibbs' moods and diversion was a tactic that had served him well in the past. Fortunately Jackson himself was distracted by the damage reports coming in and he left the bridge at a run to deal with them.

Time seemed to slow again as some of the tension left the bridge and Tony quietly moved towards the screen, ostensibly so that he could look out of the window at the damage control teams but, in reality, so that he could have something to lean against. He knew that Gibbs wouldn't be fooled and that soon enough he would be forced below to visit the ship's doctor. Truthfully he would be thankful to do so but not before he knew what had happened to the enemy vessels.

He could feel the frustration coming off Gibbs in waves as the older man came to stand beside him again, looking at him questioningly.

"Roosevelt's helos got some pictures but also came under fire. They got off some shots but had to retreat. I've had them send copies to Abby."

DiNozzo blinked. How had he missed that? He must have been more out of it than he thought. He stole a glance at Gibbs who was looking at him knowingly and Tony felt a flush on his cheeks. Judging from Gibbs' smirk he'd noticed it too.

"Roosevelt's pursuing but unless they encounter problems she won't catch them, they'll lose themselves by tonight," Gibbs sighed, his eyes bleak.

Tony looked over, sharing his boss's frustration. "And Gonzalez?" he asked.

"We're listing slightly and unable to get underway but no-one was seriously hurt. Enterprise will be here by morning, Roosevelt too probably."

"Back where we started," Tony mused, referring to Surreptitious' condition when they arrived.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, except this time Enterprise is coming to us." He stood up straighter reaching a hand out towards Tony. "Come on; let's get you patched up, again."

NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS

An hour and a half later DiNozzo sat sipping hot chocolate in a borrowed cabin, his eyes drooping. The throbbing in his shoulders had eased down to a dull ache thanks to the medication he had been given and he watched as Gibbs set up the laptop that had been recovered from Surreptitious. She was keeping company with them until repairs could be completed and they could all head home.

Fortunately the storm had now moved away and Gibbs was able to establish a satellite link with Abby. The young Goth looked as perky as ever as she appeared on the screen but a frown quickly developed as soon as she saw Tony. It took several moments of reassurances from both of them before they could persuade her to give her report. With a final, 'He'll be fine Abbs, now tell us what you've got,' from Gibbs she relented.

"I was unable to get anything on the sub, she was too deep for anything from the pictures and we couldn't see any sign of survivors in the water," she began, talking quickly, glancing at McGee who was next to her nodding in agreement with her words.

"Her escort?" Gibbs asked.

"An old Knox class frigate, it looks like the USS Miller. She was decommissioned in '91, sold as a hulk to Turkey in '99."

"She was supposedly sunk as a target in a naval exercise in 2001," McGee put in. "But there seems to be some confusion in the records.

"Five years?" Gibbs exploded, "why the hell haven't we heard about this before?"

"Um, Boss," McGee sounded a little unsure of himself. "I had to, um, 'look' pretty deeply to find anything."

Gibbs sighed, recognising the younger man's euphemism for 'hacking.' He met DiNozzo's eyes seeing the same resignation in them he was sure was reflected in his own. "A cover up?" he said.

"Looks that way," McGee agreed. "I'll keep digging Boss but we may never find out."

After a few more moments discussing when they would be back Gibbs closed the laptop and looked once again at DiNozzo. The younger man was examining the stylised elephant on his empty mug and looked about to drop.

"It's an elephant DiNozzo," Gibbs said patiently.

"I know that Boss," Tony's voice was quiet. "But what's it doing here?"

"Probably never know the answer to that either," Gibbs said ruefully, taking the mug from DiNozzo's hand and steering him towards the bunk. He watched carefully as Tony laid back and closed his eyes, sleep claiming him almost immediately. Only then did he sit down in the chair and settle down to keep watch, a small smile hovering round his mouth until his own eyes closed in sleep.

The End

_AN: I__ wrote this in response to a challenge from my daughter. At the time I wanted to write but had no ideas, she gave me three words; submarine, kidnap and elephant. I struggled with the elephant but it slipped in there eventually, hopefully it wasn't too contrived. I know that there are a few unanswered questions but this has taken me a long time to write and __it's__ cut its dash for the moment. I have other ideas in the works. Thanks for reading. VP._


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